Stand for dress forms and the like



June 2, 1942. J. L. yRAY mL 2,284,967

STAND FOR DRESS-FORMS AND THE LIKE Filed May 9, 1940 Patented June Z,1942 ArtNr OFFICE STAND FOR DRESS FORMS AND THE LIKE Joseph L. Ray,Darien, Conn., and Ralph F. Palmer, Montclair, N. J., assignors to TheSinger Manufacturing Company,

Elizabeth,

6 Claims.

This invention relates to stands for dress-forms and the like, and moreparticularly for dressforms comprising a hollow shell molded to conformto the contours of a human model.

The invention has for its primary object to provide a stand facilitatingthe mounting thereupon of hollow dress-forms of various sizes andinsuring a firm `support for the dress-form mounted upon the stand. Morespecifically, the invention aims to provide a dress-form stand requiringa minimum of adjustment thereof to adapt the stand for use with hollowdress-forms of different sizes and postures.

' A further object of the invention is to provide a dress-form standwith convenient means forv either securing the dress-form againstturning movement upon the stand or for permitting turning movements ofthe dress-form at will, and preferably, in any vertically adjustedposition of the dress-form upon the stand.

Other and more specific objects of the invention will be apparent fromthe following description and claims.

The invention consists in the dress-form stand structure as hereinafterdescribed in connection with the accompanying drawing which illustratesa preferred embodiment of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of the improved stand, with adress-form supported thereby shown in vertical section. Fig. 2representsl an enlarged viewin side elevation of the upper portion ofthe stand, with the neck-frame shown partly in section. Fig. 3represents an enlarged top-plan view of the neck-frame of the stand.Fig.y 4 represents an enlarged top-plan view of the adjustable arms forsupporting the lower portionof a dressform. Fig. 5 is a d etail view,partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section, of one of theadjustable arms illustrated in Fig. 4 and the supporting means therefor.Fig. 6 represents an ing arms, the section being taken on the line 6 6of Fig. 4.. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary View, partly in elevation and partlyin vertical section, illustrating the stand-collar designed to providefor vertical and turning adjustments of the dressform. Fig. 8 representsan enlarged cross-section of the stand substantially on the line 8 8 ofFig.y 1 and showing the base-frame in top plan View. Fig. 9 is afragmentary View in side elevation and partly in vertical section of thebaseframe of the stand.

The stand illustrated in the drawing has a base-frame of generallyconical outline including enlarged transverse section of one of theSupportaA horizontally and rectangularly disposed basewire I ofsubstantial rigidity. Suitably connected, as by soldering or welding, toeach side portion of said base-wire, medianlyof the length of each sideportion, is one end of a wire-strut 2, said wire-struts extendinginwardly at right angles from the base-wire I, but at a common acuteangle with respect to the horizontal plane of the base-wire so as toconverge above said plane'. The converging ends of the wire-struts 2 aresecured, as by soldering or welding, to the under face of a header-plate3 which is centrally extruded to provide an apertured and dependingflange 4 receiving the threaded lower end of a vertically disposedstandard in the form of a tubular bar 5.

Secured, as by soldering or welding, to each of the corner-portions ofthe base-Wire I are auxiliary wire-struts 6 which are bent to extenddownwardly below the base-wire I and to provide inwardly rounded feet 'Ifor the base-frame. Like the wire-struts 2, the wire-struts 6 alsoextend inwardly from the base-wire I, but diagonally of said base-wireand at a common angle to the horizontal plane of said base-wire which,

is somewhat more obtuse than that of' the wirestruts 2, so as toconverge at a substantial distance 4vertically above the header-plate 3.I'he convergent ends of the wire-struts 6 are secured, as by solderingor welding, to the under face of a preferably vfluted header-disk 8which is centrally slitted to provide a plurality of segments 9 bentdownwardly to embrace the standard-bar 5, thereby to support said bar invertical position.

Telescopically disposed in the tubular standardbar 5 is a verticallyadjustable extension-bar I@ secured in adjusted position by athumb-screw II threaded into the upper reduced portion of a collar I2and preferably having apointed end for engagement with the extension-barI0. The collar I2 has a standard-bar aperture I3 and a reducedextension-bar aperture E4 in alnement with the aperture I3, therebydening a shoulder I5 between said apertures and disposed in overlyingengagement with the upper end of the standardbar 5, the collar beingreleasably secured upon the standard-bar by a thumb-screw I5. Byloosening the thumb-screw I6, the collar I2 andthe extension-bar I0 arefree to be together turned about the longitudinal, axis .of thestandard-bar 5 in any vertically adjusted position of saidextension-bar. Y

The flattened upper end of the extension-bar Ill-is horizontallyapertured to pivotally receive a transverse supporting-rod I 'I ofa'tiltable neckframe I8 having the general form of a truncated cone. Thesupporting rod I1 engages the extension-bar IIB medianly of the lengthof said rod and is preferably bent slightly downwardly adjacent theopposite sides of the extension-bar Ill. The ends of the rod I1 aresecured, as by soldering or Welding, to the under side of anintermediate frame-ring I9 Which, in a vertical position of theneck-frame I8, is disposed in a plane substantially normal to theextension-bar IEI.

Attached as by soldering or welding, to the primary frame-ring I9 are aplurality of upwardly convergent frame-ring spacing members in the formof wire-loops 2li of substantially equal length. The wire-loops 2Q aresecured to the frame-ring intermediate the lengths of said wire-loopsand preferably so as to be substantially equally spaced about theframe-ring I9. The upper ends of said wire-loops are suitably secured,as by soldering or welding, to the under side of an upper neck-framering 2I which is of smaller diameter than and is disposed in a planesubstantially parallel to the plane of the framering I9. The divergentlower ends of the wireloops 23 are secured to the upper side of a lowerneck-frame ring 22 of larger diameter than but also disposed in a planesubstantially parallel to the plane of the intermediate frame-ring I3.

The intermediate neck-frame ring I9 is pref- I erably reinforced by apair of substantially parallel stiiiening-rods 23 disposed transverse toand at opposite sides of the extension-bar Ill, the opposite ends ofsaid rods 23 being suitably secured, as by soldering or welding, to theunder side of the ring I9. The lower neck-frame ring 22 is similarlyreinforced by a pair of stiffening-rods 24 disposed substantiallyparallel to the rods 23.

A dress-form skirt support is carried by a collar 25 secured by athumb-screw 26 upon the extension-bar IG for vertical adjustmentthereof. To the upper reduced portion 2d of the collar 25 is suitablysecured a horizontally disposed supporting-plate 21 having twooppositely directed supporting-arms 2B of substantially equal length andtwo relatively shorter and also oppositely directed arms 29 which arelengthwise disposed substantially normal to the arms 28. The arms 28 and29 are fluted to provide the upper faces of said arms with spaced andsubstantially parallel channels 30 extending lengthwise of therespective arms Slidably disposed in the channels of each of the arms 28and 29, for adjustment lengthwise of said arms, are the parallel membersof an elongated wire-loop arm-extension 3| confined by a clamp-plate 32overlying the wire-members of the arm-extension. The clamp-plates 32 arefiuted to provide the under faces thereof with channels 33 opposed andparallel to the channels 33 of the respective arms 28 and 29, each ofsaid clamp-plates having downwardly bent endflanges 34 in engagementwith the side-edges of their supporting arms. The clamp-plates 32 areeach provided with an upstanding boss 35 which is apertured and threadedto receive a clampplate securing thumb-screw 33 passed upwardly throughan aperture in the arm 28 or 29, and between the wire-loop members ofthe arm-extension 3I. Preferably, a washer 31 is interposed between thehead of the thumb-screw 3B and the arm into which it is threaded. Asillustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawing, the inner end portions of thearm-extension 3I are bent upwardly to provide stops which limit outwardmovement of the arm-extensions upon their supporting arms.

Suitably secured to the outer ends of the respective arm-extensions 3lare horizontally disposed carriers 38 extending transversely of thelengths and to opposite sides of said arm-extensions. The free endportions of the carriers 38 are preferably slightly bent horizontallyinwardly, and fitted upon the bent portions of said carriers arepreferably cylindrical and horizontally spaced dress-form engagingmembers 39 of rubber or equivalent yielding material. The armextensions3| associated with the longer arms 28 are preferably correspondinglylonger than those associated with the relatively shorter arms 29.

By loosening the thumb-screws 36, the armextensions 3l may be readilyadjusted lengthwise of the arms 28 and 29, the end-flanges 34 of theclamp-plates serving to prevent said clampplates from turning about theloosened securing screws 33, and thereby insuring that the armextensions3l are conned upon the supportingarms therefor.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing, a dress-form A (illustrated in verticalsection) is shown supported by the described stand. The dress-form Acomprises a hardened hollow shell molded to conform to the contours ofthe torso of a human model, and includes a collar portion B and a skirtportion C; The dress-form A is mounted by passing it downwardly over theupper end of the stand until the collar B of the dress-form rests uponthe neck-frame I8. The conical shape of the neck-frame I8 accommodatesdifferent sizes of neck-openings in the collar portion B of thedress-form and, being self-tiltable, the neck-framel adapts itself tothe neck-posture of the model from which the form was made.Consequently, no manually effected adjustments are required to be madeof the neck-frame, either as to size or posture of the dress-form.

The collar 25 of the skirt-portion support of the stand is nowvertically adjusted upon the extension-bar I 0 so that the cylindricalmembers 39 of said support are at a level slightly above the lower edgeof the dress-form. The arm-extensions 3I are now adjusted lengthwise ofthe supporting arms 28 4and 29 therefor until the cylindrical members 39contact the innerY face of the dress-form, whereby the dress-form is nowdefinitely supported at the opposite ends thereof. Because of the linecontact afforded by the cylindrical members 39, they are readily adaptedto meet the conditions incidental to different form configurations. Thearms 28 and the varm-extensions 3i supported thereby are made longerthan the arms 29 to span the dressform below the hip portions thereof,the shorter arms 29 and the arm-extensions 3I thereof providing forengaging the 'front and back portions of the dress-form. l

By loosening the thumb-screw II of the collar I2, the extension-rod maybe vertically "'adjusted in conformity with the desired height of thedress-form, maintained by `again tightening said thumb-screw IE. Whentightened against the standard-bar, the thumb-screw I6 serves to holdthe dress-form against turning upon the stand, but by loosening saidthumbscrew IB the dress-form may be freely turned while fitting a dressthereto in any vertically adjusted position of the dress-form.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention what we claim hereinis:

l. In a stand for hollow dress-forms and the like, comprising a base, a`standard rising vertically from said base, and dress-form supportingmeans carried by said standard, the improvement which consists in theprovision of a neck-portion supporting frame including a plurality offrame-rings of different diameters and disposed in substantiallyparallel planes, a plurality of upwardly convergent frame-ring spacingmembers, and a pivot-rod carried by said neck-frame and supported bysaid standard providing for tilting movements of the neck-framerelatively to the standard.

2. In a stand for hollow dress-forms and the like, comprising a base, astandard rising vertically from said base, and dress-form supportingmeans carried by said standard, the improvement which consists in theprovision of a neckportion supporting frame including 'a plurality offrame-rings of different diameters and disposed in substantiallyparallel planes, a plurality of upwardly convergent frame-ring spacingmembers in the form of wire-loops attached to said frame-rings, a rodpivotally mounted upon said standard and carried by said neckframe, andsubstantially parallel frame-ring stiiTening-rods having their oppositeends connected to the same frame-ring at opposite sides of saidstandard.

3. In a stand for hollow dress-forms and the like, comprising a base, astandard rising from said base, and dress-form supporting means carriedby said standard, the improvement which consists in the provision of aneck-portion supporting frame including upper, intermediate and lowerframe-rings of successively increasing diameter and severally disposedin substantially parallel planes, a plurality of upwardly convergentframe-ring spacing members attached to each of said rings, a pair ofsubstantially parallel stiiTening-rods disposed at opposite sides ofsaid standard and connected at their opposite ends to a frame-ring, anda neck-frame supporting rod pivotally mounted upon said standard andconnected to the intermediate framering of said neck-frame.

4. In a stand for dress-forms and the like, comprising a, base, astandardrising fromsaid base, and dress-form supporting means'carried bysaid standard, the improvement which consists in the provision of asupporting-plate having a plurality of arms mounted upon and eX- tendingtransversely ofsaid standard, said arms being provided withsubstantially parallel guidechannels extending lengthwise of the arms,armextensio-n members adjustably disposed in said channels, clamp-platesprovided with guidechannels complemental'to said arm-channels forreceiving said arm-extension members, means for securing saidclamp-plates to said arms inv diierent set positions of saidarm-extension members, and dress-form engaging members carried by saidarm-extension members.

5. In a stand for dress-forms and the like, comprising a base, avertically disposed standard rising from said base, and dress-formsupporting means carried by said standard, the improvement lwhichconsists in the provision upon said standard of a plurality ofoppositely directed arms having guide-channels extending lengthwise ofsaid arms, arm-extensions in the form of elongated wire-loops slidablydisposed in said guide-channels, clamp-plates releasably secured uponsaid arms in engagement with said arm-extensions --and havingend-flanges vin engagement with the side edges of said arms, anddress-form engaging means carried by the outer ends of said arms.

6. A stand for dress-forms and the like, comprising, a base, avertically disposed standard rising from said base, a neck-framesupported by the upper end of the standard, a plurality of oppositely'directed and horizontally extensible supporting arms mounted upon saidstandard, and individually yieldable dress-form engaging members carriedby and disposed at opposite sides of the outer ends of the respectivesupporting arms. I

JOSEPH L. RAY. RALPH F. PALMER.

